August 20

Which is Christ in you the hope of glory.—Colossians 1:27.

THE relative which has riches, not mystery, for its antecedent. For the apostle had been, in the foregoing verses, celebrating the riches, or the abundance of this gospel mystery; and now he adds, by way of explanation, which riches, or abundance is Christ himself, whose indwelling in you produces the hope of eternal glory. Here, then, two points arise for consideration; 1. That Christ himself is that treasure of spiritual riches which is offered to us in the gospel. 2. That Christ confers these treasures upon us, as far as he is in us; for thus is he the hope of glory.

First, There can be no necessity for our taking much trouble to prove that we have in Christ the hidden treasures of all the spiritual goods which are offered us in the gospel. For in the third chapter of Eph. verse 8, they are spoken of under the title of the unsearchable riches of Christ. And in Colossians 2:3, the apostle distinctly asserts, that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hid in Christ. The reason of this is evident; namely, because Christ is the head of the Church; and from the head, as from a fountain, all spiritual life and motion in the inferior members are derived. Nor do we only derive every indwelling grace from Christ, but also the grace of Divine acceptance into life eternal, as far as we are reckoned in Christ the Head, and are found clothed with the garment of his perfect righteousness. In Christ, therefore, all our riches are laid up; in Christ is all our hope of glory.

Secondly, But inasmuch as it is too clear and evident, that all men are not made partakers of these riches; therefore, the apostle adds how Christ is made the treasure of riches of salvation to men; by what means they have in Christ their hope of glory; namely, as far as he dwells in them, so far they have the hope of glory. But Christ is said to be, or to dwell in any man, when he, by the Holy Spirit exciting faith in the heart, attains to a true knowledge of him, and a living trust flowing from that knowledge. He, therefore, who truly believes all the doctrines concerning the natures, and the union of the natures, and the peculiar offices of Christ; his being, for instance, very God and very man, the Mediator and Redeemer of the human race, and the other points which are revealed in the Word; who, by the inspiration of the same Spirit, is fully persuaded that Christ is to him as he is in himself, that is, his God, his Mediator, his Redeemer and Saviour; the man, I say, who implicitly believes these things, dwells in Christ, and Christ in him, and by the operation of his Spirit and of faith, receives all the riches of Christ. Upon this ground, Christ himself plainly declares, in John xv. that when separated from him we are dead as to spiritual life; I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. He that abideth not in me, is cast forth as a branch, and is withered. But now, we abide in Christ when bound to him by faith and the Spirit. The uses of this are these:

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1. Since so long as Christ is not in us we can not be partakers of his spiritual blessings; let us labor, by faith in him, to induce him to take up his abode with us: for, as Cyprian truly says, "It is by faith, and not by personal contact, we are united to Christ in this life."

2. Since we can have no hope of obtaining glory, either in ourselves, or in angels, or saints, or any where out of Christ alone; much less let us look for it in our own works. It is an excellent remark of Gerson, in a poem,

"Seek not the robe of works:—by blood And by pollution stained, they will but bring Confusion too and shame of face."